New Must-Try Toronto Restaurants: Summer 2015

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From east to west, pizza to avocado toast, there’s something new for you to feast on in Toronto this season

Traffic congestion, TTC shutdowns, and disconnected bike lanes make it harder and harder to get around our fair city but we do it for our taste buds. We set out to find the best new restaurants in some of our favourite neighbourhoods. Now it’s your turn to head out and give them a try!

MasterChef Canada season one winner Eric Chong and MasterChef judge Alvin Leung have teamed up to create this fun new restaurant serving up modern Asian cuisine in China Town. Feast your way through a dim sum brunch or dig into an order of duck duck bao. Try the sticky and delicious sweet and sour pork ribs too. Mmm.

This new Junction fish shop, lunch counter and wholesaler is possibly one of the best places to get fresh fish and shellfish in the city right now, whether you eat in or take it home to cook it yourself. The menu changes often, but you can expect to find items like chowder, raw tuna dishes, fish curry and steamed shellfish. With seafood, it’s the ingredients that make or break a dish. Because Honest Weight is both producer and chef, you can be pretty sure that everything served here will be great.

800 Dundas Street West sits on the corner of Dundas and Palmerston and, over the last few years, it has been home to quite a few restaurants, most recently Hudson Kitchen. Hopefully the newest tenant will be able to make it stick. Serving up diner classics and Texas BBQ in a soon-to-be 24/7 format, we think Old School just might be the one to make it here.

There have been lots of casual restaurant options on the main drag of St. Clair West, and now with the opening of Concession Road, there is a place for higher-end cuisine in an accessible atmosphere. Enjoy eclectic and elevated “global French cuisine” like fish stew, Japanese Fried Chicken, and steak frites.

Playa Cabana seems to have an outpost within walking distance from almost everyone’s house. Enter their newest location, taking over the Berkley Café’s spot in Corktown. Enjoy tacos, tequila and mescal-based cocktails at this Mexican hot spot.

Fort York (a.k.a. CityPlace) is not typically the neighbourhood we look to for new, exciting restaurants. But, hopefully that’s about to change – starting with Citta, the city’s newest rustic Italian restaurant. Expect to find a wide selection of pastas and pizzas. And it’s especially nice to see a restaurant with an entire Bianca section on their menu, which is pizza without tomato sauce. It may sound strange if you’re never had it, but trust us, it’s something special.

Toronto’s labyrinth PATH system has been receiving a slow and steady makeover over the past few years. Old, dark hallways have been replaced by gleaming white tile and, excitingly, these changes have extended to food options too. The newest delicious (and healthy!) take-out choice in the PATH is Crave Healthy Habits in the Richmond-Adelaide Centre. Just to be clear, this isn’t a new restaurant per se, but it is an expanded version of the original Financial district take-out spot.